Diving safari

See the best of the Caribbeans hidden depths from a live-aboard dive boat

by DR BRAD BOWINS  September 2008

Imagine yourself aboard a beautiful boat cruising
the Caribbean. Relaxing on the top deck, you watch the water rush
by as the island ahead grows larger. By the time the boat slows,
you feel like you can almost reach out and touch

that stunning limestone sand beach or tree-covered
slope. Suddenly a bell rings signalling that it's time for the next
dive.

That's right: this is no massive cruise liner;
it's not even a sail boat. You're on a live-aboard dive boat, or
what Europeans call a safari boat. Operating in the premier scuba
locations throughout the world, these craft allow divers to explore
the depths intensively for a week or 10 days, and to truly get away
from it all.

On live-aboard trips, time underwater is what
it's all about. On most days there are usually three or four dives
during the day and one dive at night. Land-based operations rarely
offer more than two dives and, even if they do, the effort of lugging
equipment on and off a boat is simply too exhausting for many divers.

Given the ease of diving from a live-aboard
dive boat and the option of five dives per day, you can imagine
that there is little time for anything but diving, eating and a
very deep night's sleep before starting all over again.

Days start early with a friendly wake-up call
and breakfast, dominated by talk of what might be seen on the dives
to come. The air is charged with excitement, and perhaps a little
nervous anticipation, as divers don their gear and ready their cameras.
Dives generally start from the mother ship and in some cases off
much smaller tenders. The first dive of the day is frequently the
deepest. The prevailing, although not necessarily accurate, belief
is that you're less likely to get the dreaded bends if you progress
from deeper to shallower dives throughout the day.

Having enjoyed 16 live-aboard dive trips,
six in the Caribbean, I can testify to the incredible value and
break from it all provided by these excursions. Divers often report
having more unique and stimulating experiences during a week away
on one of these excursions than they have throughout an entire year
back home.

Get your
Kitts
My first Caribbean live-aboard trip was on the Caribbean Explorer
starting from St. Maarten. Our first destination was Saba, an incredibly
unique island jutting out of the Caribbean Sea as the tip of a submerged
volcano. The island is so steep that, in the early 1900s, Dutch
engineers decided that no road could be built on the island.

A local resident wasn't deterred: he took
a correspondence course in civil engineering and constructed "The
Road That Could Not Be Built." With its twists, turns and sheer
drops this road is not for the faint of heart.

From the town of Windwardside, I hiked up
the well-laid trail to the top of Mt. Scenery where giant ferns
and swirling mist gave the impression that a Jurassic creature was
around every bend. When the mist cleared, the island's vertical
profile was obvious, and I had a clear appreciation for the massive
volcano lying below.

Underwater Saba is equally impressive, with
dramatic pinnacles such as Eye of the Needle and Diamond Rock rising
from the depths. These formations tend to have abundant marine life
fuelled by strong currents which bring nutrients from deeper waters.
Filter feeders such as hard and soft corals, sponges and feather
stars coat the pinnacles, while schools of smaller fish such as
the vibrant blue-and-brown chromis hug the reef and barracudas circle
waiting for an opportunity to strike. The most impressive residents,
however, were the hawksbill and green sea turtles soaring like gliders
in flight looking for their favourite food -- jellyfish.

Since 1987, Saba has protected its reefs by
establishing a marine park. The results are apparent at sites close
to shore where large stands of elkhorn coral are fashioned into
complex shapes and giant sea fans bend with the current. Good-sized
angelfish including the stunning Queen species with a dazzling two-toned
blue ring above the eyes, and parrotfish such as the multi-coloured
stoplight species are also found in abundance.

Of all the odd-ball fish to be found in the
world's oceans, one of the oddest is the Flying Gunnard, having
evolved the unique behavior of walking on pectoral (side) fins!
Imagine lying on the floor and walking with your arms. Saba is one
of the best places anywhere to see them.

Departing Saba we headed to St. Kitt's to
explore its flat profile reefs and wrecks. Off Brimstone Hill Fort,
one of the largest and best preserved forts in the Caribbean, Paradise
Reef revealed a large coral-encrusted anchor that was centuries
old. Flamingo tongue snails with their multiple orange spots ringed
by a dark border were easy to spot on the many sea fans. These beautiful
creatures make ideal subjects for macro photography. St. Kitts also
has wrecks that have grown into artificial reefs, literally coated
with filter feeders much like the pinnacles of Saba.

Better Belize
It
I experienced a completely different adventure much further south
off the Central American country of Belize, which has the second-longest
barrier reef in the world. I set out from Belize City aboard the
Belize Aggressor, which was joined by several other live-aboard
dive boats.

While diving is reasonably good on the barrier
reef itself, the truly awesome diving occurs further out where only
live-aboards dare go. Several cays provide diving unsurpassed in
the Caribbean, such as at Lighthouse Reef where massive black grouper
and other large reef fish are abundant. Here walls decorated in
marine life plunge from just below the surface into the depths.
I repeatedly had the sensation of flying as I passed over the edge.

By far the best-known dive site in Belize
is the Blue Hole, made famous by Jacques Cousteau. Not so well known
is how his crew dynamited a section at the top to allow passage
of their large research vessel! A definite no-no nowadays, but generally
accepted back then. An above-water cave during the last Ice Age,
the roof collapsed when flooded by rising sea water, leaving a large
hole with the top section approximately three metres under the surface
and the bottom at 120 metres.

Heading over the lip, I quickly swam down
to photograph my fellow divers as they descended with flashlights
on. The cave sloped back revealing massive stalactites literally
dwarfing divers. Adding to the eerie nature of the cave was the
colder water and absence of tropical fish.

Some live-aboard trips in the Caribbean offer
the experience of a shark-feed. Certain places such as the Bahamas
still have abundant shark populations, largely because the respectful
country is aware that sharks are worth much more alive as an attraction
to divers than dead for sharkfin soup.

Departing from Nassau aboard the Aqua Cat,
we toured the Exumas, a vast string of coral islands. At one site
-- Amberjack Reef -- the crew secured frozen bait for the local
blacktip and Caribbean reef sharks. In no time at all, perhaps 30
sharks were around us vying for a free meal and completely ignoring
the divers.

I positioned myself to take pictures of these
magnificent fish cruising around with the sun behind them. With
the adrenaline level high and two cameras on the go, it was a very
active and exciting hour. As the sun dipped low on the horizon,
we ascended, accompanied by a couple of sharks who were perhaps
thinking that there might be more handouts available.

Despite the obvious damage to the reefs that
was evident in the Bahamas, where a massive overgrowth of algae
has decimated the hard corals, I enjoyed my time on the Aqua Cat.
I also found that various creatures such as mollusks, stingrays
and sponge-eating angelfish seemed to be doing well. The most interesting
resident was the solitary lionfish we spotted thousands of kilometres
away from where it would normally be found. It had apparently escaped
from the massive aquarium at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island
while it was still in the larval phase.

It seemed to be doing fine and didn't mind
posing for pictures -- probably a regular affair given its uniqueness.
I recently read that this uninvited ambassador to the Caribbean
Sea had been returned to his tank. Oh well, at least it had more
than 15 minutes of fame.

Grenadines
Launcher
My most recent live-aboard trip was to the Grenadines, a chain of
Caribbean islands extending from Grenada in the south to St. Vincent
in the north. The Wind Dancer (part of the Peter Hughes fleet) runs
trips part of the year from Grenada.

These islands may be better known to sailors,
but they offer varied diving opportunities. I noted that many reefs,
and certainly those closer to the large island of Grenada, were
dead or dying due to algae over-growth. I took the time to educate
the staff and other divers regarding this widespread problem. Coral
reefs are hidden to the vast majority of people and I believe divers
are the ones who can raise awareness of their plight.

Fortunately, some of the reefs in the Grenadines
are still healthy and I was very impressed by immense gardens of
soft corals, particularly near Bequia. The lengths of the bushy
soft coral, sea whips and sea rods were incredible, frequently with
branches over three metres in length! Swimming through these gardens
was a very surreal experience as the velvety soft branches swaying
with the surge brushed by me.

Another surreal sight was the elusive seahorse,
which is able to alter its colour to perfectly blend in with the
surroundings. On one memorable dive I discovered a golden coloured
seahorse swaying with the sponge it was attached to. The excitement
of such a find -- not to mention the photo opportunity -- adds enormous
spice to any dive.

Discovering what lies beneath the seas, whether
it be seahorses, sharks or even algae related to climate change,
is a very special and inspirational experience that has motivated
me to keep taking the plunge time and time again.

Brad
Bowins is a psychiatrist working in a private practice and at the
University of Toronto Health Service. He began scuba diving when
he was 15 and has completed over 1000 dives, most devoted to underwater
photography. In addition to his Caribbean trips, he has explored
the undersea riches of the Maldives, Egypt, the South Pacific and
Southeast Asia.

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Additional Information

Go overboard

Live-aboard dive boats truly are an efficient and affordable way
to take in prime Caribbean dive sites. Youll save on the cost and
hassle of airfare between islands. Pricing depends on the destination,
quality of the boat and time of year. Solo travellers will be happy
to hear that there is no single supplement.

In the Caribbean, hurricane season peaks in August and September
and discounts can often be found, but the risk of poor weather makes
the savings questionable. Winter frequently brings more wind and
rougher seas. The full moon is associated with greater tidal changes
and often produces more active seas.

Having been a diver since I was a teenager, I've had an opportunity
to witness the impact of climate change in the oceans first
hand.

Nowhere is this very real phenomenon more apparent than in the
Bahamas and other Caribbean reefs. Here, the massive overgrowth
of algae has decimated the hard corals, and to a lesser extent,
the soft as well.

Powered by sunlight, algae can easily outgrow corals and other
filter feeders -- particularly given the warming ocean temperatures
and the added nitrogen from fertilizers and untreated sewage which
is pouring into the seas.

As if this ecosystem wasnt fragile enough, there has also been
a widespread decimation of algae-eating sea urchins due to disease,
and overfishing has thinned the population of herbivores such as
parrotfish and surgeonfish (named for their lancet-like side spines).
As a result, the algae reigns supreme.

This change has occurred over a few short years. Its a wakeup call
for all those who doubt the impact of climate change.